Shining Brighter by facing our darkness
Today is St. Lucia day. Saint Lucia’s name (Lucia in Italian) shares the root luc with the Latin word for light, lux. Because of this connection, Saint Lucy is often depicted in art and religious custom as a bringer of light on the darkest calendar day of the year. In the Northern Hemisphere, so there is significant iconography of Lucy as a bringer of light in the darkness.
Whenever you are reading this, it’s your turn to be part of bringing light from the darkness, and in this way, to honor the gifts you have, both of your Enneagram type, and other aspects of yourself.
Let me remind you of this one very important part of that bringing - it’s important to face your own darkness first before you can bring the light.
Don’t do this callously or without a plan however, because darkness must not last forever, and we, the ones with the options to stir and to move around in our minds and heart and bodies, must move indeed for surviving and thriving.
I invite you into the fire of bringing light from shadows and into these specific steps.
Here are some steps as to how you can bring focused light out of the darkness today:
Light a candle and put your phone away (but first, read the rest!).
Get your journal out or a scrap of paper. Let’s use natural light and not a computer for this time.
Take a few moments owning the harder aspects of your life for 5 minutes, no more and no less. You can come back to it in your regular rhythms if you need more time for that later. There is no need to solve a problem in this step. Lament is enough. It is OK to allow for imperfections - just don’t abandon yourself or your people as you allow for this rhythm. If you’re a person of prayer, lift these laments up to God, similar to David in the Psalms.
After 5 minutes, begin to choose to add in some light. Like your candle, you too can shine out in dark spaces and bring light wherever you go. Bring in some reminders of gratitude for what you have come through because of these hardships. Perhaps you also consider your virtues and morals here. What values will you carry forward instead of bitterness or wrath? The areas of your hurt begin to be your strongest ways to help others after a time. What new skills or virtues have you developed as a result of your hardship? Write these gratitudes down for five minutes or so.
Make a plan to do just one thing today - the thing you know that is the most important today - the thing that will make you feel peace and give you the knowledge that you are carrying light into not just your own life, but into someone else’s darkness. For me, it is loving on one of my children who was discouraged last night. What is it for you? Write it down.
Let silence in as needed as you contemplate this action step but don’t lose focus.
Finally, take action. Do not stay in the darkness of your brooding. You are a valuable part of the light of love today. Share it out! Just don’t forget to blow out your candle before you bring your much bigger and more impressive light out to others.
Let’s shine brighter in the world together!
Find more ways to shine brighter with your spouse in our 5 week relationship course or in our book, “Enneagram in Marriage.”
